Identity
by Zighana
Summary: After a racially-driven tragedy strikes, Penny Proud and her friends face their own demons when race and identity becomes a prevailing issue. What is it like to be You? WARNING: racial slurs, sensitive material, coarse language, minor character death, possible major character death, violence, sexual content, not for the faint of heart. In response to the Eric Garner case.


Identity

_After a racially-driven tragedy strikes, Penny Proud and her friends face their own demons when race and identity becomes a prevailing issue._

He was shot.

A boy, no younger than 17, was gunned down in a children's playground by the police, right in front of the little boys and girls who played.

He had just got accepted into a top-notch university.

He was also Black.

Incidents like this have been happening across the country; the fact that it happened in Penny Proud's neighborhood shouldn't be shocking.

But it is.

Flagler Beach, Florida isn't normally on the market for violence; their crime rate is no more than 17%, and that's on a bad day.

For a black young man to be gunned down in front of children by a _cop_ is horrific.

Some tried to argue that the boy was dangerous; cops only attack when their lives are threatened, right?

Wrong.

Many, preferably people of color, knew that this wasn't the case.

That boy was well-known in Penny's school; he's a model straight-A student, perfect attendance, squeaky-clean record, and an active member of his church. Impeccable manners, sharply dressed, and has a father who's a coach for the football team.

Michael Collins wouldn't hurt a fly.

That's the shocking part about it.

The cop responsible for the murder is Elliott Blue, a 47-year old white man who was known among his colleagues to be prejudiced, with a dash of bigotry to match. On the surface, he's some good-natured cop who _'likes everybody'_ and upholds the law accordingly. But after some research, his life behind closed doors tells a different story. He frequents white supremacist sites and writes posts that say terrible things about people of color. He even wondered, in one of his posts, what it would be like to _'kill a nigger'_.

Elliott Blue denies those allegations. He claims it's all lies and that someone altered his posts. He says he'd never support white supremacy and that he's far from a racist. He also says that Michael Collins came at him menacingly and he, following protocol, shot to defend himself.

Prosecutor Regina Fisher disagrees.

It's been reported Blue did _not_ follow protocol when he approached Collins, and accused him of a burglary that occurred three weeks prior. Blue also tried to detain him without a warrant or explanation as to why Collins was being detained. Witnesses say that Collins shouted his rights and insisted he's an innocent bystander. Witnesses also seen Collins try to fight Blue off him when he was being subdued. Collins was fighting defensive the entire time; the defensive wounds at his autopsy prove that.

When asked about the harshness of his actions, Blue argued that Collins had a menacing appearance that, fearing for his life, needed to be subdued.

Regina Fisher found fault in that statement.

Collins was far from menacing; his 5'7" height is dwarfed by Blue's 6'4". Collins was also known for his swimmer's build and having little to no muscle definition. Blue, however, is over 200 pounds of muscle; Blue could overpower him without even trying. Witnesses also say that Blue exhibited nature that was far from fearful; he was more aggressive and combative compared to Collins.

She also argued that for a 200 pound muscular man to detain and kill a man who's half his weight sounds suspicious, especially if it's in front of innocent children. That isn't exactly protocol either.

There were piles upon piles of evidence stacked against Blue; his only saving grace is his reputation among citizens he'd served. The upper middle class white kind, it seems. What some people noticed was that the jury was almost all white. Some of them who were elbow buddies with the police force, making their verdicts biased. It split up Flagler Beach in half; those who sided with Blue while those who opposed Blue. The tension broke six months later.

After a lengthy trial, the verdict came.

Elliott Blue.

Not Guilty.

Outrage happened.

People protested the verdict; some blocked off freeways and picketed local stores that supported the crooked cop. Some looted and vandalized property; that was the most public. It wasn't long before cops detained and violated citizens with their batons and tear gas.

When Penny looked out her window, she had seen Sticky nearly beaten to death by a cop for protesting. She never looked out her window at night again.

The protesting, the violence, and the racial tension took a toll in her high school. More fights broke out and subtle racism came out more aggressively. Penny never thought she'd be called a nigger by a classmate who borrowed a pencil from her Freshman Year. The school eventually created weekly Therapy Counsel. Therapy Counsel is where a group of students, selected at random, would come in every Thursday after school to talk, mainly about their feelings involving the verdict. What was considered a dumb idea had some perks; the students that came were anonymous and Therapy Counsel has a strict No Tell policy. Whatever happens in Therapy Counsel _stays_ in Therapy Counsel. Eventually people came to accept the idea and it lessened the tension.

Penny had yet to go; she considered herself exempt from the hostility that plagued her school. She prided herself on her open mind and acceptance of others; she's more evolved than her fellow man. So when she got the stub hidden in her locker, she was shocked. Checking the clock, she calmly makes her way to T.C.

Room 602 A.

The placard, written in a soothing blue Century Gothic font, reads _Therapy Counsel: where you let your thoughts run free_.

She wanted to roll her eyes.

She enters, 5 o'clock on the dot, and is shocked at who she sees.

Her friends, all of them, are sitting in chairs that are gathered in a circle. Zoë looks nervous, Sticky looks angry, LaCienaga looks exhausted, Di'jonay looks calm, and Kwok looks depressed. In the center of the center is a black woman who sits cross-legged and calm. She turns to Penny and greets her with a smile. She gestures for Penny to have a seat. She sits next to Sticky.

"Hello, everyone," the woman says, her voice light and airy. It already annoys Penny.

"My name is Felicia Richards, and I will be heading Therapy Counsel. Would you like to introduce yourselves?"

Silence.

"Okay then," Felicia gets up and stretches. She sits on the chair in the center and crosses her legs.

"Zoë," Zoë blurts out. The rest follow.

"I'm Kwok."

"Di'jonay."

"My name is LaCienaga."

"Sticky."

"And I'm Penny," Penny finishes. Felicia nods.

"This is a nice start. Now," She walks to the chalkboard. Within seconds her hand starts moving.

The teens watch as she writes in elegant cursive. When she sets down her chalk, she turns to face them.

"I want you to answer this question for me."

She underlines it.

_**What is it like to be you?**_

"So who wants to answer that question first?"

"What is it like to be me? Do you really want to know?" Di'jonay asks. Her hazel eyes pierce into Felicia with an intensity Penny has never seen before.

"What it's like to be me is what it's like to be called _Pretty…for a __**Dark-Skinned**__ Girl._"


End file.
